this and that

It's 18 degrees here today! And windy as the dickens... but 18!!! It feels warm and lovely out and I love it. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) our deck is shaded AND there is still scaffolding on the one side of the building... so no sitting in the sun at home for me. That doesn't mean I can't go to a park or something, but I'm a little busy today anyways. This is going to be an all over the place blog, with lots of pictures - who doesn't like pictures?

After three months of scaffolding, it's going going gone! It is so much brighter... the hall leading to our apartment on floor 3 of Big Apartment Building in Tokyo

the Big Apartment Building

So there's a chain of stores here that is sort of like a mini has-everything store; its stocks food, drink, beer, booze, hair products, paper products, underwear, socks, Louis Vuitton bags, Coach bags, watches, jewelry, toilet seats, pillows, clothing, dog food - you get the picture. I may have blogged about it before - Don Quijote. The first time we heard about this tienda was from a Japanese person, who, when I asked how you spell this store they nodded yes to D-o-n-k-e-y H-o-t-a-y. So we had a good laugh (not at anyone's expense) over this misunderstanding. And so here are a few pics from this store that is seriously packed with goods:

$500 toilet seat anyone?

Various beauty sundries - not knowing, not understanding what the point is. Refresh your head?


More beauty and face thingies...

This was in the products-that-will-burn-calories-for-you section: hot leggings, body suits (to be worn under your clothes) and this burning-calories respirator (on the right) - ???

On Tuesday, after lunch at our favourite pizza place, we made for the closest aquarium, as we've heard that the aquariums here are top notch. From Nakameguro to Shinagawa to not-sure-where we went - on this crazy line - busy and busy. I'm sure it's not too difficult to figure out, but my first impression was this: ???!?!. And my first question to Steve: "Should we ask someone?"




And finally. Nao and I went out to dinner last night at a well-known tonkatsu place in Meguro - Tonki Tonkatsu. Though deep-fried pork doesn't sound like the most amazing thing (or maybe it does), it is delicious. So so so so good... And this place obviously has a reputation, people know about it; there was a full line of hungry folk sitting on benches that lined the walls. However, as soon as we stepped inside, one of the many men that were working food-prep asked us what we wanted to eat and took our order. (There are only three things you can ask for: pork with the fat, pork without the fat and pork-something on a stick - that we weren't sure of.) So, as soon as we sat down at the counter, our food was ready and we were eating - perfection. This is why there is no picture of the food - I ate it before my brain told me to take a picture of the meal (tonkatsu, rice, shredded cabbage, miso soup and a few pickles. And tea). We left full and happy. YUM!!


Wait, two more thoughts. First: what's the deal with the expression like the dickens? Here's the scoop. Dickens was probably derived from another surname - Dickins, Dickons, or just the first name Dick. It was - and still is - a euphemism for the devil.

And here is the rest of the explanation, from World Wide Words:

The first person known to use it was that great recorder of Elizabethan expressions, William Shakespeare, in The Merry Wives of Windsor: “FORD: Where had you this pretty weathercock? MRS PAGE: I cannot tell what the dickens his name is my husband had him of”. That pun relied on the audience knowing that Dickens was a personal name and that what the dickens was a mild oath which called on the Devil.

Secondly, what isn't good in the deep-fryer?